Results 7,081-7,100 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: Is it the case that any young person, at the age of 18, can go to the local employment office and be dealt with?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: How long is it in operation now, if I may ask?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: The Department had quite a successful pilot in Ballymun.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: Is it a mandatory or a voluntary scheme at this stage? I think it was envisaged as a voluntary scheme, but nevertheless there was the expectation that all young people in an unemployed situation would engage with it.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: It does.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: The whole purpose was to prevent young people from falling into long-term unemployment. To what extent is there a breakdown of how many people are moving into education, apprenticeships, employment or whatever option, out of the 25,000 who have engaged with it to date? That information would be very useful.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: What level of European funding is coming through on that? Is it 50:50?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: So that is being drawn down.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: It comes in arrears - I think that is the way it is. In respect of the community welfare officer service, it seems to me that it is getting more difficult by the day. There seems to be less and less discretion exercised by the community welfare officers. There seems to be very little in clothing, back to school allowances or any of the services that might be useful for people....

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: Well, that is the word we hear, but in practice that is not what happens.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: Are the guidelines related to areas of deprivation, say, on the Pobal index of deprivation, something of that nature?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: The word is that things have tightened up so much that it is not worth going to the community welfare officer any longer. The bereavement grants, although they can be generous at times, seem to be operating in a fairly haphazard fashion as well. I am not sure what the guidelines are for them. The system needs to be looked at. There are certain undertakers that engage where the family is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: Okay. Ms O'Donoghue might send some of that on to us with the guidelines-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: -----because it is the variations and the discrepancies that matter. My final point arises from the question about community employment pensions or the non-CE pension fund. Ms O'Donoghue mentioned that part of the reason there was no pension was that the CE schemes were operated by local companies. However, the local companies are in place because the Department insisted that it be a...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: The funding for the supervisors comes from the Department.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: I know, but we are talking about pension entitlements. All the funding that goes to CE schemes, whether it is for the company that operates the scheme or the employee - the person who is engaged in delivering the scheme - comes from Ms O'Donoghue's Department. Therefore, how can she simply say that because it is a local company that is doing the employment, there cannot be a pension? The...

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: It is a local company-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: -----and, therefore, there cannot be a State pension.

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: So the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will sort it out for us?

Public Accounts Committee: 2013 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 37 - Social Protection
Chapter 10 - Regularity of Social Welfare Payments
Chapter 11 - Control of Supplementary Welfare Allowances
Chapter 12 - Farm Assist
Social Insurance Fund 2013 (28 May 2015)

Joe Costello: That is another day's question.